BBC to adapt J.K. Rowling’s ‘Casual Vacancy’

Neil Blair, Rick Senat to produce TV series

LONDON — J. K. Rowling’s first book for adults, “The Casual Vacancy,” is to be adapted by the BBC.

The TV series based on the global best-seller — Rowling’s first novel following the seven “Harry Potter” tales — will be produced by an independent production outfit operated by Neil Blair, who represents the author via the Blair Partnership, and Rick Senat.

Deal was struck following talks between Blair and BBC1 controller Danny Cohen.

The BBC said that Rowling will collaborate closely with the project.

The number and length of the episodes will be decided “once the creative adaptation process has formally begun,” added the pubcaster.

Skein was greenlit by Cohen and Ben Stephenson, controller of BBC Drama, and is expected to air in the U.K. in 2014.

“The Casual Vacancy,” which received mixed reviews, is set in the fictional English town of Pagford, apparently an idyllic community, but is in fact rife with social and economic inequalities.

Rowling said: “I’m thrilled that the BBC has commissioned ‘The Casual Vacancy.’ I always felt that, if it were to be adapted, this novel was best suited to television, and I think the BBC is the perfect home.”

Cohen added: “J.K. Rowling’s story-telling is of course peerless in its popularity, and I am looking forward to collaborating with her.

Stephenson said: “We are thrilled to bring J.K. Rowling’s extraordinary tapestry of modern Britain to the screen.

“It’s a book of such richness that through humour, social commentary and above all fantastic characters, says something insightful and entertaining about the country we live in.”